Tim Sherwood Cannot Be Aggrieved by Losing the Tottenham Job

There was a festive mood at packed White Hart Lane on Monday evening as Ledley King was celebrated with a testimonial.

Spurs greats including David Ginola, Teddy Sheringham, Darren Anderton and Dimitar Berbatov all turned out to support the former defender, who scored a penalty as his veterans XI overcame the regular Spurs team 6-3.

One minor blemish on the evening, however, came when a small contingent of the Lilywhites faithful booed manager Tim Sherwood.

A few hours later, a club statement revealed that the coach had been relieved from his 18-month contract via a six-month break clause.

At the time of writing, Sherwood has yet to make a statement about his sacking, but he has been quite bullish about his future as rumours of his exit persisted in the past month.

After Spurs' 5-1 victory over Sunderland in April—at a time when Louis van Gaal rumours began to circulate—Sherwood told reporters that "nothing has changed" and he was making pre-season plans.

According to the Daily Mail, the 45-year-old is also thought to have turned down an offer for an assistant manager role, inferring that he would leave to pursue his coaching career elsewhere.

Certain statistics suggest that Sherwood would be right to feel indignant about his dismissal. He won 14 of 28 league games in charge and he boasts a higher win percentage than both of his two predecessors.

In fact, Sherwood also had the highest winning percentage of any Tottenham coach in the Premier League era and transfermarkt indicates he's also the most successful English coach in the same time period by points earned per match.

Sherwood was first appointed as a coach at Tottenham in 2008 and is generally well-liked by the players. Well, apart from Sandro.

However, Tactics Tim can feel neither surprised nor aggrieved by what has transpired on Tuesday.

By agreeing to an 18-month contract with a six-month break clause, Sherwood must have known that he was never in Daniel Levy's long-term plans. Every step of the way, he has been undermined and rumours of big-name replacements have hung over him since he first graced the dugout in his famous gilet.

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Tottenham have a culture of sacking managers.

In the Premier League, they have had 19 different coaches—or 21 if you count Doug Livermore's partnership with Ray Clemence and Clive Allen's reign with Alex Inglethorpe separately. In that same period, serial sackers Chelsea have had 17 managers.

One must also consider the sense of entitlement that a man like Sherwood has no right to possess.

This season, he has walked into his first job in management, with absolutely no prior experience, at the very top level. He was even given special dispensation to take charge, as he doesn't have his UEFA Pro Licence coaching badge.

Someone with Sherwood's experience and qualifications should have to start his management career on the bottom rung.

Surrounded by other Premier League managers who have earned their stripes at a lower level, he should have felt fortunate to have a cameo role in Tottenham's season—even one as brief as the one he offered a fan on Sunday would have been lucky.

The same point might be made of Ryan Giggs. Granted, he is a Manchester United legend who knows the club inside out, but he also does not have his UEFA Pro Licence yet and holds one of the biggest jobs in football with no prior experience.

Until he has a proven track record in management, he can't expect to hold the keys to the Old Trafford castle.

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To turn down a No. 2 role at the Lane suggests that Sherwood feels he deserves better, but his CV may suggest he has ideas above his station.

There is no telling what Sherwood's true feelings are on this scenario, but he has little right to be embittered. He should take away his experiences at White Hart Lane, use them for positive and earn his way back to the top flight with a few years of hard managerial graft further down the pyramid.